WHEN cops fall, many kids are left without parents.
However, a brighter path has come through as the South African Police Service (SAPS) marks National Police Day by fundraising for the children of officers lost in duty.
In four years the SAPS has lost 140 police officers, who died in the line of duty.
On Thursday, 25 January, more than 100 Golf players from various corporate companies across the country came together to pledge and raise funds for the South African Police Education Trust Fund (SAPSET).
R6,6 million rand was raised and will go towards the educational needs of the children.
The management of the SAPS, led by the Minister of Police, General Bheki Cele has paid gratitude to all sponsors and donors for ploughing back.
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“These funds go a long way in making a meaningful difference in the lives of these children left behind. The least we can do is ensure these children don’t carry an extra burden of stressing about school fees, books, school uniform knowing their educational needs have been taken care of," he said.
Cele urged more corporates to support for this cause.
The National Commissioner of the SAPS, General Fannie Masemola, thanked all men and women in blue for risking their lives on a daily basis to keep all people in Mzansi safe.
“On this day, we pay gratitude to you, our men and women in blue who work tirelessly to hunt down dangerous criminals, remove illegal and unlicensed firearms, remove drugs off our streets and work hard to ensure successful convictions in court for perpetrators of crime. Let’s continue to work hard to rid our country off criminality," he said.
Masemola urged communities to embrace police officers and work together with them.
“From January 2023 to date, 33 police officers were killed on duty and today we are laying a Constable to rest who was run over by a truck while assisting at an accident scene in KZN,” he said.
